Demario Walker v. State of Mississippi

230 So. 3d 703
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 21, 2017
DocketNO. 2015-CT-00912-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 230 So. 3d 703 (Demario Walker v. State of Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Demario Walker v. State of Mississippi, 230 So. 3d 703 (Mich. 2017).

Opinion

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

RANDOLPH, PRESIDING JUSTICE,

FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. After Demario Walker’s probation was revoked and he was' sentenced to serve the full five years of his suspended sentence, Walker filed a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). The Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court dismissed Walker’s petition, and Walker appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and *704 reversed and remanded in. part the judgment of the circuit court. We granted cer-tiorari review and hold that the Court of Appeals did not err in finding that (1) the circuit court had jurisdiction and authority to revoke Walker’s probation, (2) Walker was afforded due process at his revocation hearing, and (3) revocation of Walker’s probation was proper. However, the Court of Appeals did err in finding that the circuit court’s' sentencing Walker to serve the full, five-year term of his suspended sentence was improper. Therefore, we affirm in part and reverse and render in part the Court "of Appeals judgment, and we reinstate and' affirm the circuit court’s judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2, After pleading guilty in Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court to the crime of false pretense under Mississippi Code Section 97-19-55, Walker was sentenced to serve five years’ incarceration, with imposition suspended pending successful completion of a five-year probationary period. See Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-55 (Supp. 2016), Walker also was ordered to- pay $1,018.57 in restitution and fees, ■

¶ 3. Approximately one year later, Walker was discharged from parole for an unrelated conviction. He then was placed on parole for his false-pretense conviction. After Walker failed to report monthly for four months to his probation office, failed to pay required fees, and failed to pay restitution to his victim, Walker’s probation officer Richard Johnson filed, an affidavit, resulting.in the circuit court issuing a warrant for Walker’s arrest.

¶ 4.. Subsequently, Walker’s, probation was revoked. At his revocation hearing, Walker stated that Johnson had told him ■he was on probation. Walker was sentenced to serve the full five years’ incarceration of his suspended sentence. In response to the revocation of his probation, Walker moved for PCR, which motion was dismissed by the circuit court. Walker appealed the circuit court’s dismissal, and the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part for further consideration consistent with its opinion. Both the State of Mississippi and Walker filed petitions for certiorari, both of which were granted by this Court.

ANALYSIS

¶ 5, In his petition for certiorari review, Walker raises two issues. First, he argues that no evidence was presented that he violated the terms and conditions of his probation in a material respect. Second, Walker argues that he was not on probation in Jefferson Davis County at the time his alleged violations occurred. In its petition, the State argues that the Court of Appeals erred as a matter of law and fact in holding that (1) Walker could only be sentenced to not more than ninety days and (2) this was Walker’s “first technical violation.” ■ =

I. Standard of Review

■ ¶ 6. Our standard of review of the trial court’s • denial of a PCR- motion is clear. We will not reverse the factual findings of the trial court unless they are clearly erroneous. Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595, 598 (Miss. 1999). All questions of law are reviewed de novo. Id.

II. Violation of Parole

¶7. Walker argues that the trial court improperly found that he violated the terms of his parole because no evidence was presented 'at his revocation hearing to substantiate the allegations al-. leged in Johnson’s affidavit against him.

■ ¶ 8, As the Court of Appeals held, Johnson swore an affidavit that Walker had not *705 properly conducted himself [and] had violated the conditions of his probation in a material respect by;

Condition (c) .Report to MDOC as directed by it; Offender Walker failed to report for the month of July 2014, August 2014, September 2014, and October 2014; Offenders] location is unknown; Offender has absconded probation.
Condition (i) Pay required fee during each month of probation to MDOC; Offender Walker currently owes $412.00.
Condition (l) Defendant shall pay restitution; Offender currently owes $968.57.

Walker was provided a copy of these violations and the evidence presented against him in a waiver of his right to a preliminary revocation hearing, which he signed. At his hearing, Walker did not dispute any allegations, called no witnesses, and did not cross-examine Johnson. We find this issue to be without merit.

III. Timing of Probation

¶ 9. Walker also argues that he was not on probation during the time of these alleged violations. However, Walker admitted that Johnson informed him he was on probation and that both agreed his probation started in July 2014. Both the trial court and Court of Appeals determined that Walker was, in fact, on probation at the time the violations occurred. This issue is without merit.

IY. Mississippi Code Section § 47-7-37—(5)(a)

¶ 10.' At Walker’s revocation hearing, the trial court revoked his probation and' sentenced him to the entirety of his original five-year sentence. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, finding that, because this was Walker’s .first technical violation of his probation, he should have been sentenced to not more than ninety days. Subsection (5)(a) of Mississippi Code Section 47-7-37 reads in pertinent part: . •

... If the court revokes probation for a technical violation, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical viQlation. For the third technical violation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center, for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the ..sentence. For the fourth and. any subsequent technical violation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.

Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-37 (Rev. 2014).

. ¶ 11. In its petition for certiorari, the State argues that Walker violated three conditions of his parole, as reflected by Johnson’s affidavit. The State submitted that each individual violation was a separate technical violation as contemplated by Section 47-7-2(q).

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230 So. 3d 703, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/demario-walker-v-state-of-mississippi-miss-2017.